Daddy
by blurd-vision
Summary: Jake, Peyton, Lucas & Jenny. Prepare for tears there will be many, one life lost because of fight, read this fic & love, you might...
1. I promise

Disclaimer: I d o n o t o w n O n e T r e e Hi l l!  
  
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Jake sat in his room, playing his guitar to his infant daughter Jenny. His bright voice echoed through the small empty room. The small girl watched her father's hands dance along the thin strings. His face, enlightened with joy to see his daughter smiling, sang out the words that Jenny had heard since she was born.  
  
Outside, the sun held itself high in the afternoon sky. The clouds had all drifted away to another place. Children played and laughed together in the streets. Jake stopped singing and looked out his window. He laughed as he watched the young boys play hockey in the middle of the road. "Move!" One yelled at the sight of a car. The kids moved their game aside then brought it back to continue their mini-NHL game.  
  
"One day, Jenny you're gonna be watching your own kid out a window and you're gonna wonder why you aren't there two." The musician began to play his guitar again and sang to the tune that resounded in the wooden instrument. As he continued to sing, a young woman made her way into his room.  
  
"Hi Jake." She said smiling.  
  
"Hey Peyton." He said setting down his guitar and Peyton sat down beside it. Picking Jenny up in his arms, he asked her. "What's up?"  
  
"There's a party tonight," she said hesitantly. "And I wondered if you'd wanna come with me. There are other people going so..."  
  
"I'd love to go. My parents have been telling me to go out and have some fun for weeks, may as well."  
  
"Good. Then I'll meet you at my house at eight?" Peyton asked. Jake nodded. "Well, I have to go, I got a lot of homework."  
  
Jake watched her leave, then stood up. "Okay Jenny we're send you a message into the future." He said as he set up a camera. Setting the baby on the bed, he turned the camera on.  
  
"Hi Jenny!" he spoke to the camera. "You're probably a lot older now but I just want to remind how simple life was back when you were only this big..." Jake lifted her up to the camera. Grabbing the camera in one hand and Jenny in the other he did a tour of his room, then the entire house. "This is where you slept and down this hallway is your Uncle Mike's room. And down the stairs there's the living room, where Peyton and you played. I'm sure now that you're watching this, we live in a nice house and you have mommy, I just want you to know even here, in Tree Hill, you were happy." Jake turned around and went back upstairs. He explained more as they mounted.  
  
"This," he said stopping on the twelfth step. "Is all the marks of how much you've grown. You're marks are in purple, mine are red and Uncle Mike's are blue. And this is..." Jake's presentation was cut off as he slipped on his hairbrush. The camera flew through the air and banged on the hardwood floor below the stairs. Jake quickly wrapped his protective arms around his crying daughter and held his eyes shut as they fell down the stairs. The ground seemed so far as seconds inched by and steps banged the young man's body. Doing his best to stay on his back, he tumbled into a chair and lay limp on the soft rug as his child cried.  
  
Lifting his head from the ground, Jake searched for a noise. There was nothing not even the ticking of the clock. Then he remembered, "Oh no." Jake sat up and set his daughter on the ground. "Jenny? Jenny?" he asked desperately. "Jenny wake up, cry, laugh, talk do something to show me you're alive." He stared at the baby. Her small chest moved up and down. Jake gasped for breath as tears fell down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry Jenny. I'm sorry." He said as he rocked her in his arms. Looking over at the tape, he groaned loudly and kicked it across the room.  
  
"No one's ever gonna hurt you again. I promise... I promise"  
  
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You do not test the depth of a river with both feet. 


	2. You're okay

1 D0 N07 0WN 0N3 7R33 H111 ( :  
  
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"Hey Peyton." Jake greeted when Peyton answered the door. "You look great." Peyton thanked him as they made their way over to his car. "So where is it we're going?"  
  
"Um... 134 Wellington." Peyton instructed." So you're parents are taking care of Jenny tonight?"  
  
"Ya they were more than willing to do it too." Jake laughed at the comedian on the radio, before changing stations. "Uh! There's nothing good on." He said as he winded the wheel off its hook.  
  
Peyton laughed at her absentminded friend. "What happened to your head?" she asked staring at a cut on the side of his head.  
  
"Oh I slipped going up the stairs. Must have cut it on one the steps." Jake said as they drove up to the house. "Here we are."  
  
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The house was filled with reckless teenagers ready to party. "Hey Lucas." He said approaching his teammate.  
  
"Hey. So you came here with Peyton?" Lucas asked. Jake nodded happily.  
  
The night passed slowly and Jake's mind was left at home. He couldn't stop thinking about Jenny. Is she okay? Does she need me? Should I just leave? Why am I here? Jake asked himself continuously throughout the night.  
  
A young guy who looked about 17 came and sat down beside Jake. "Did you ever wonder what it would be like if guys had boobs?"  
  
Jake looked confusedly at the guy. "No. Did you ever wonder what it would be like if you shut up?"  
  
The guy looked at Jake blankly, his left eye watching the girls that passed and his right staring at Jake. "No."  
  
Jake sighed and got up. Looking around for Peyton, he saw a bunch of guys swarmed around a girl. As he got up, he saw that the girl was Peyton and every time she'd try to get away they'd push her back. That made Jake very angry, how dare they bother Peyton like that. Making his way over to them he yelled. "Get away from her!"  
  
The pack of guys looked over at him and Peyton took her chance to escape. 'Go to my car.' Jake mouthed Peyton shook her head discretely and ran out the door. "You wanna mess with her, mess with me." He said threateningly.  
  
A blonde walked up to Jake. "So you think you're so Jake punched him across the face sending him back wards into the couch. The blonde murmured something and jumped the expectant Jake. Suddenly, Jake found himself on the ground wrestling a guy twice his size. 'He looked smaller standing up.' he thought as a large fist smashed into his jaw. The two guys rolled over hit each other one after the other until another member of the little gang kicked them both in the side. Jake cringed as the guy's steel-toed boot drove its way into his ribs. Seeing this, Lucas and a few others jumped the remaining clueless guys who had been circling Peyton moments before. Jake vision blurred as the blonde punched him continuously. Thinking quickly, he jabbed his knee into his attacker's lower abdomen. As the guy flipped over, Jake jumped up and ran to help his friends.  
  
"Lucas?" he asked quietly as he knelt down beside his friend. Blood and sweat dripped of his face and unto his friend. Jake apologized as he wiped it off.  
  
"I'm fine." Lucas replied as he sat up. "But we've gotta leave."  
  
"What about the others?" Jake asked, looking over at the immense fighting scene.  
  
"They can take care of themselves." Jake nodded realizing he didn't know a single one of the guys. Lucas caught a ride with Jake and Peyton who was sitting in the car shaking. "Are you okay?" Jake asked as he turned on the ignition.  
  
"Yeah I was just worried that you weren't."  
  
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Please review!  
  
I won't put up the next chapter till I have 4 reviews.  
  
Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.  
-Martin Luther King jr. 


	3. Dinner for two

Un arbre sur la colline ne m'apartiens pas. (I do not own One Tree Hill)  
  
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Jake questioned his motives of that night as he walked the steps to his house. The cloudy sky looked down disappointedly on the young father as he stood on the roofless porch. The out-of-place planks of wood creaked under his running shoes as he paced over them. Looking up he saw the starless sky. The white moon shined over the small town and he thought of his daughter. His beautiful little girl whom he abandoned that night. Then Nicki came to mind. He could see her rude face telling him how he had done just what she did. As he sat down on the cold concrete steps, his mind shattered and his feeling exploded. The young man rested his face in his arms as tears fell down his face.  
  
Jake jumped when the screen door slammed shut behind him. "Sorry Jake." Apologized a deep voice dimmed by the wind. "You're home early."  
  
"It wasn't any fun... so I came home." Jake responded to his older brother, Mike between silent sobs.  
  
"Are you okay?" Mike asked to his brother who stared away from him. He asked again. Jake turned to him; the dark brown of his eyes was surrounded by a glistening shade of pink. Tears dripped of his chin as he nodded his head. Mike's face broke out with sorrow. "It'll be okay." He said as he held his brother in his arms.  
  
As he comforted his little brother, Mike began to cry too. "Jake," he said. "Go inside." Jake closed his eyes as he shook his head. "Why not?"  
  
"I feel... unworthy I guess. Like I don't deserve her." Jake looked over at his brother's confused face. Once Jake finished explaining what had happened that day, Mike stared blankly at the shady sky in front of him.  
  
"Jake, you're not unworthy." He said hesitantly. "Your infant daughter is laying upstairs in her bed, all alone. She doesn't deserve to be left that way. You're a great father and nothing Nicki said or didn't can change that."  
  
Jake thanked his brother and left him outside on the porch to go see his little girl. As he climbed the stairs he looked at his parents, sitting happily on the sofa and he thought to himself. 'Someday, I'll sit like that, proud of my children and what they'd become.' He took a deep breath before opening the door to his room. The creaky door awakened Jenny and she began to cry.  
  
"It's okay, I'm here." He said as he held her in his arms. Once she stopped crying Jake set her down and covered her with the small blanket. "I didn't mean to hurt you and leave," he whispered. "But I'm here now." .  
  
A week or so later  
  
The sun shined bright and the afternoon sky was clear of clouds. Slight drizzles from the early morning, had left the grass smelling fresh and renewed. Peyton sighed as she walked alone across the trampled grass. Looking around she saw Nathan and Lucas walking together and Brooke and Haley going in the same direction. To her left she saw Jake sitting on a bench with Jenny. "Jake." She yelled as she ran over.  
  
"Hey Peyton. I was hoping I'd see you." He said smiling. "You're coming tonight, right?"  
  
Peyton nodded her head as she sat down beside them. "Yeah, I can't wait to see what you're surprise is."  
  
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Later that night, Peyton made her way through the sunset stained streets. The dying sun shot it's bright rays over the small city, while the night's darkness loomed patiently above it. Peyton stopped and looked in front of her, the sky's purples and reds mixed together creating a river of beautiful colors circling the bright setting sun.  
  
"Hi Peyton, come in." Jake greeted her with Jenny in his arms. "It's just you me and Jenny tonight. My parents are on a business trip until Sunday and Mike's out for the night." Jake smiled as he took her jacket and hung it in the closet.  
  
"So what are we doing?" Peyton asked curiously.  
  
Jake chuckled. "Close your eyes." He said as he guided her to the kitchen. When she opened her eyes, she found that she was impressed by what she saw.  
  
In front of her, sat the small kitchen table covered with a black sheet with two candles lit. Nice plates were set out and the smell of chicken filled the air. Also set on the plate were Peyton was to sit, was a small bouquet of tulips.  
  
Their dinner passed by quickly as they talked and laughed. "Here I'll take that." Jake said picking up her plate, then setting it in the sink. "And now..." Jenny began to cry loudly. Jake made his way to his daughter. He checked her and then announced for his friend. "Diaper." He nodded his head and left the kitchen, Peyton followed with Jenny in her arms.  
  
"Why do you need your coat to change a diaper?" Peyton asked him as he slipped on his jacket.  
  
"Because..." he struggled with the zipper. "We're out. I'll go to the store and get some if you stay here with Jenny." Peyton agreed then watched as Jake left the house.  
  
The young man shivered in the cold air, wondering how the temperature had dropped by so much. When he turned on the ignition on the car, he heard a large bang. Looking under the hood, he grunted and slammed it shut. "Why did it have to break down?" he asked himself as he walked to the store.  
  
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"They're grrrrr-eat!" . . . . . . . . . . .

–Tony the tiger  
  
Please Review!


	4. Weaker

Disclaimer: do I own not 'One Tree Hill'?  
  
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Jake swung the plastic grocery bag onto his elbow and shuffled his cold fingers together. Shivering, he looked up at the sky. His breath created a small mist in the dark night. Far off in the distance, he heard villainous laughter and car wheels screeching over the road. He tried to think of other things, but the thought of screeching tires, likely topped with drunken teenagers, rested on his mind. When he heard a girl screaming he decided to run.  
  
Off through the distance, down the street, he flew like a pouncing tiger. The plastic bag wavered behind him, slowing him down as the wind gathered itself up in it. He stopped abruptly when the two streets met and he saw the teens in their dark red convertible. As they slowed down in front of Jake, he realized that they were the guys from the party who had been bothering Peyton.  
  
"Look it's a raven." They said mockingly. "Why don't you run off with your little boyfriends and leave the streets to people who can take care of themselves."  
  
(A/N: As you can probably tell I'm not very good at teasing people. : ) so try to pretend they're saying mean things.)  
  
Jake stood alone, listening to their mockery wondering when it would end. It seemed it wouldn't, so Jake began to walk away. "Hey where do you think you're going." The blonde said as he jumped out of the car.  
  
"I'm going home." Jake said plainly as he continued down the sidewalk.  
  
"Hey!" Another guy jumped out of the car and leaped over to Jake. "We're talking to you." The guy grabbed Jake's shoulder and turned him around. Jake pulled back his fist and shot it at the unsuspecting guy, who fell to the ground.  
  
Jake tried to make a break for it. But was jumped by one of the bigger guys. When he stood up, seconds later, the whole 'gang' had surrounded him. Jake's mind whirled around trying to find an escape. 'Maybe through a couple of the weaker ones.' He thought. None of them looked very weak.  
  
"You're gonna regret the day you ever walked down this street." The blonde said as he approached his prey, slapping his fist into the palm of his immense hand. Jake thought about his friends, his daughter, and his family if only someone was there.  
  
Jake felt his body being slammed between the guys. It was five against one. He had no chance. The guys mocked him as they threw him around like a rag doll. His thin Ravens jacket slipped off his tired body and he tried to stabilize himself. He looked around. Everyone was blurry. He continuously hit the same guy who struggled to defend himself. Hearing a small glass shatter he stopped and heard the guy yelling about his glasses. He tried again to run, but was sent to the ground by a hard object slapping his back. Curling up in pain, he felt a big boot knock the wind out of him as it smashed into his chest.  
  
He listened as the guys walked back to their car. He let out a deep sigh of relief but held back his air when he heard the footsteps approaching him again. 'What did I do to you?' He asked himself.  
  
The guy chuckled as he stared at the victim lying on the ground. His dark brown hair was streaked dark red, as was his nice and only white shirt. His left arm, twisted oddly, reached out for a broken bottle that rested near him. Jake opened his eyes. And saw a newly sharpened knife sitting above him. His eyes opened widely in shock as he kicked the guy in the shins. The knife plummeted downward and fell into the young man's upper arm.  
  
He screamed out in pain and the blonde laughed, then grabbed the knife and pulled it deeper through his bloodied skin. Jake heard the tires screech away as the smoke from the exhaust pipe filled the sidewalk. He moaned as pain shot through his body. Tilting his head to the side, he tried desperately to see someone he knew. There was no one. He was alone.

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Back at the house, Peyton began to worry. It had been almost forty minutes since Jake had left and he had still not come back. Pacing back and forth with Jenny in her arms, she decided to go find him. She set Jenny down, slipped on her jacket and went outside. It was really dark. Peyton looked around. The moon was hidden by a group of clouds that had invaded the town.  
  
Peyton weighed her options and chose to go back inside. Quickly, she dialed the numbers that had been so efficiently engraved in her mind.  
  
"Hi Lucas? ... Ya I need your help can you come over to Jake's? ... I'll tell you later, thanks, bye." She hung up her phone and waited for her friend to arrive.  
  
"Lucas!" Peyton ran over to him, closing the door to the house.  
  
"What's wrong Peyton?" He asked. Peyton explained her story while they walked to the store, hoping Jake had lost track of time. As they turned the corner, they saw a person lying on the sidewalk. Hurrying over, they wished that their thoughts were wrong and that they were seeing things.  
  
"Jake?" Peyton said as she bent down over him. Tears filled her eyes as she waited for him to move. "Call someone!" Peyton ordered. Lucas called 911 and they waited.  
  
Putting his arm around Peyton and Jenny, Lucas let the tears fall. Peyton leaned her head on Lucas' shoulder and began to whimper softly. Slowly Jake turned his head, and opened his left eye. Weakly he lifted his head and looked at them as if trying to see who they were. "Help is coming, Jake. Just hold on."  
  
Jake's stomach rose up and down as he breathed. "Take care of her." He whispered as he stared into Jenny's eyes. "I love you..." a small tear dripped down his nose as he closed his eyes and gently set his head on the cold pavement.  
  
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Please Review!  
  
I need 4 more reviews to put up the next chapter  
  
Keep your face to the sunshine and you will not see the shadows.  
-Helen Keller 


	5. Through the night

Disclaimer: Not do I own One Tree Hill  
  
I just wanna thank everyone who reviewed; it's very encouraging to know that people like it and that they want to read more. Thank you!  
  
And also I'm so sorry but it has to happen...  
  
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"Is he okay?" Lucas asked as he rushed into the hospital. Peyton stood alone beside the bench where Jenny was sleeping, she ignored his question until his hand reached hers. "Is he okay?" he repeated.  
  
Peyton stared at him, her eyes red from crying. "I don't know." she whispered. "They won't let me see him." Peyton and Lucas sat down on the blue plastic benches in the waiting room.  
  
Lucas looked over at Jenny who was lying in Lucas' Ravens jacket that he had let Peyton wear just minutes before. She was sleeping so peacefully; unaware of what was happening. Her little eyelashes flickered at the bright lights. Lucas rapped his arm around Peyton and she rested her head on his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay."  
  
"What's going on? I got your message and came as soon as I could." Mike asked frantically as he raced into the room. "Is he okay?" The two teens watched his worried eyes jet back and forth. They could see a small reflection from the light on his wet cheeks. Mike breathed deeply as he walked over to his brother's friends. Sitting down, he picked up Jenny and asked Peyton. "Did you call my mom?"  
  
Peyton shook her head. Mike searched his pockets with his hand that didn't hold Jenny. "Either of you got a phone?" Lucas reached into the pocket of his pants and handed it to him. "Hold her for a sec." He said to Peyton as he put Jenny into her arms. Mike looked back and forth from a paper to the phone as he dialed. The conversation was short and ended on a bad tone.  
  
"What do you mean you won't make it? ... Try... Just be here!" Mike yelled into the phone. "Sorry." He said as he gave back the phone.  
  
Finally a nurse came out. "You're with Jake Jagielski?" she asked quietly.  
  
Peyton stood up and approached her desperately, tears streaming down her sorrowed face. "Is he okay? Can we see him?" she asked as Lucas and Mike came up beside her.  
  
The nurse's eyes flooded with tears. She wished to reach out to them but it wasn't her place. "He's sleeping," she stopped talking. Lowering her head she whispered to them. "Go in."  
  
The three of them neared cautiously Jake's bed. Pushing back the curtains, they saw his broken body lying lifeless on the white bed. Peyton's body fell to the ground. Her small figure shook vigorously on the cold floor. Lucas bent down to Peyton and held her tightly in his strong arms. "It's not fair." She wept. "He's got Jenny and everything else, why now?"  
  
Lucas struggled to hold back tears. "He'll be okay, I promise." Peyton rubbed her blonde hair against Lucas' dampened shirt. Lucas felt a drip of water tickle the back of his neck and a hand against his shirt.  
  
He looked up and saw Mike holding his eyes shut, bouncing Jenny in his arm and rubbing Lucas' back. Lucas felt bad. He had forgotten Mike was there, and still Mike kept himself together to keep Jenny happy and to help Peyton and Lucas. Bending down Mike wrapped his arm around the young man. "Thank you." Lucas whispered as loud as he could. Mike just watched him constantly looking over at Jake.  
  
A man cleared his deep voice, startling the young people. "I'm sorry. You're his family?" he asked oddly.  
  
Mike stood up, as did Lucas and Peyton. "No, or well I'm his brother, these are his friends."  
  
"Where are your parents?" The doctor asked. Mike explained that they were out of town and they couldn't make it. "Could you please give me their number and I'll have a nurse call, I think they'll want to be here." Mike wrote down the number and handed it to the doctor.  
  
"What do you mean, they'll want to be here?" Mike asked hesitantly. "Is he okay?"  
  
The doctor sighed and Peyton began to sob more obviously. "I'm very sorry, but I don't think your brother will make it 'till tomorrow."  
  
Jake lay in the bed a meter away from them. Listening in he felt the life drain out of him right there. 'I'm gonna die.' He said to himself. A tear slipped down his cheek as he thought of everything that he was going to miss. 'Jenny's first word, her first day of school, her graduations, going to university, giving her away at her marriage.' A tear fell down his cheek at the thought of not seeing her grow up.  
  
"You see," the doctor continued. "Your brother lost a lot of blood tonight. We've tried to pump some back in, but... we don't know if he'll survive."

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That night, as Jake slept, Lucas, Peyton and Jake tried to teach Jenny to speak. Jenny mumbled something that sounded like a cat meowing. "It's not gonna work Peyton, she's not gonna say it."  
  
"Give her here." Mike said taking Jenny from Lucas. "Come on Jenny, you can do it, say it." After listening for a few minutes of listening to the silence, she blurted it out. "See what did I tell you?" They all celebrated.

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"Mike, Peyton, Lucas." Jake whispered. "Mike. Luc. Peyton. Get up." Jake sighed frustrated he had been trying in vain to wake them up for five minutes.  
  
"What?" Peyton asked half asleep, her head still resting on Lucas' lap. Just before going to sleep they had put Jenny under Jake's arm Peyton put her head on Lucas' lap, Lucas had rested his head on Mike's back, and Mike on the side of Jake's bed.  
  
Peyton smiled and shook Lucas and Mike until they woke up. "Good morning." Jake whispered. Jake looked down at Jenny, who yawned and opened her eyes. "Hi Jenny."  
  
Once they were all a little more awake, Mike took Jenny in his arms. "Come on, you can do it..."  
  
Jake watched intently tears gathering at the side of his eyes. Jenny smiled as Mike encouraged her. Her little hand reached out to Jake and Mike set her in his brother's arms.  
  
Looking deep into his Jenny said as loud as possible, without yelling. "Daddy."  
  
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Please review!  
  
We all live in a yellow submarine...  
-The Beatles 


	6. A cold wish

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill. Nor do I own Jake, Lucas, Peyton or Jenny. (I may or may not own Mike. Who knows?)  
  
A/N: to lala456 one of your questions will be answered here, the other, well... Yes and No Also, to all you people... I'm sorry!  
  
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Peyton looked deep into her friend's eyes. They were so lifeless, so sad, yet there was still a gleam of joy that made her want to cry even more. She couldn't imagine never seeing his eyes again, never being able to hold his hand, to laugh. She didn't want to.  
  
Jake looked down at Jenny who lay asleep in her father's arms. She was so small and helpless, how could he have been so blind. His life in the past week could have been different if he had only thought things through. Looking up at his friend, he saw her curly blonde hair hang down over her face. Behind her, Mike and Lucas stood in silence. Looking past Peyton to the two guys he asked. "Could we be alone for a minute?"  
  
They both nodded and left the curtained area. "Peyton," Jake began slowly. "I know I won't be able to go home, but you will." Peyton's eyes filled with tears as she sat down in a chair beside the bed.  
  
Peyton reached over and grabbed his hand and held it as tightly as she could. "You don't know that," she sighed. "There is a chance."  
  
Jake looked away from her gaze. "There is no chance, Peyton. So, I want you to have Jenny. I don't trust my parents and Mike's not ready and there's no way I'm letting Nicki have her."  
  
"Jake I don't know what say." A tear slipped down the young woman's cheek.  
  
"Say you will." Jake whispered through sobs. Peyton laid her body down on the bed next to his. "I'm sorry Peyton." Jake apologized as a swarm of tears fell down his face.  
  
Peyton wrapped her arms around him. "I love you Jake." The young woman gasped for breath, as the clump in her throat grew bigger. "Please don't go."  
  
Ignoring her plead, Jake draped his weak arm around her body. "I love you too." The couple lay in bed together until Jake found he could cry no more. Lifting his head he said to his friend. "Could I talk with Mike?" he asked lightly. Peyton nodded her head and disappeared around the curtain.  
  
"Hey Jake." Mike said as he approached his brother. "How ya feeling?"  
  
Jake looked up at his older brother. He had always admired how cool he was but then, looking up into his sad but trying to be happy eyes, Jake saw a strength he had never seen in his brother. "I don't know." He answered simply.  
  
Mike sat on the side of his brother's bed and looked down at him. "You know I always thought I'd be first." Mike laughed a little trying to loosen the tension that had built itself up there.  
  
"Well you know that whole age before beauty thing is just a joke. It's really the other way around." Jake laughed and smiled up at his brother. "I'm gonna miss you." Jake said trying not to cry. He saw water flowing on the brim of his eyelids.  
  
Mike swallowed back his tears. "I'm gonna miss you too." Jake struggled to sit up and Mike grabbed him in his arms. "Just promise me, you'll wait for me... in heaven."  
  
"I promise." Jake felt safe again. His brother's protective arms wrapped around him. "You know, it's okay to cry."  
  
Mike looked down and then into his brother's eyes. "I know." Mike leaned his head against Jake's. "I know." he repeated.  
  
Jake could feel his cheek getting wet from his brother's tears. "Hello Jake." Said a familiar voice.  
  
"Nicki?" Jake asked.  
  
"I'll leave you two alone... for a bit." Mike helped Jake lay back down and he went back to join Lucas and Peyton.

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"What do you want Nicki? And how did you know?" Jake asked suspiciously.  
  
"My sister is your nurse." Nicki nodded her head towards the door. "And don't worry..." she stopped to wipe a tear away from her eye. "I won't be long. I just wanted to tell you I'm done challenging you for Jenny." Jake shrugged. "And... I wanted to say goodbye."  
  
"Goodbye, Nicki." A tear trotted quickly down his cheek.  
  
Nicki stood up. "I'll always love you Jake." She bent over and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Jake." The young mother stood at the curtain. "I'm sorry." She whispered loudly. Smiling weakly, she left him. And that was the last time Nicki ever talked to Jake. Neither did she see Jenny again.

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When Lucas, Mike and Peyton came back in the room, they found Jake sobbing lightly. His black curly hair hung lifelessly over his pale face. Peyton and Mike each sat next to him, on opposite sides and Lucas sat next to Peyton further down the bed.  
  
"What is it?" Mike asked as he pulled his little brother into his arms. (A/N: for anyone who finds that weird, Mike wanted to be with Jake when he left)  
  
"Do you know what days it is today?" he asked his friends. Once he looked around and saw no one had the answer he looked over at Jenny who was asleep in Peyton's arms. "It's her birthday."  
  
Peyton sniffled as she handed the infant to her father. The four teens sat n silence for a few minutes. Then after checking the time Jake broke that silence. "Guys, it's 11:11, make a wish." Jake smiled as he laid his tired head on his brother's shoulder.  
  
Peyton thought for no more than a second before wishing. Closing her eyes she whispered. "I wish that Jake would stay with us."  
  
Jake closed his eyes too. "I wish that Jenny would grow up to be like Peyton."  
  
Lucas joining his friends he closed his eyes and wished. "I wish that Jenny would remember her father."  
  
Mike brought his hand up to pet Jenny's hair, as he listened to his brother's slow heart beat on the heart beat measurer (A/N: you know what I'm talking about.) "I wish that... Jake?" Looking behind him he saw the straight line on the machine and heard the haunting, long beep.  
  
"Jake!" Peyton yelled, inconsiderate of the other patients.  
  
Mike laid his brother down on the bed and Peyton took Jenny in her arms. The child cried and screamed. "Jake?" Mike laid his head down on his brother's chest and his tears flooded the young man's gown. "Jake?"  
  
Tears streamed down Lucas' face as he held Peyton in his arms. "Goodbye Jake."  
  
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To Be Continued?  
  
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Please every one that's read this fic review, I need to know what you thought.  
  
Good or Bad let me know please! 


	7. It's been five years

Disclaimer:

To lie or not to lie, that is the question.  
Whether 'tis nobler to admit one possesses not OTH,  
Or to perish in the prevarication of such untruth.

-Shakespeare/ Meg

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Peyton was lying on her bed staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes burned from crying and her throat ached, but neither compared to the sense of loss in her torn, broken heart. Beside her laid Jenny, the poor young girl who would never know the memories of her father. Jenny had been his world, and Jake had been Peyton's. And somehow, someway Peyton would gap that hole that Jake left and be for Jenny the mother that she entrusted not to Nicki.

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It had been five years since Jake had passed away. After high school, Peyton, Brooke, Lucas and all the rest went off their own separate ways. Peyton decided to move out to New York and see where the current pushed her.

Her and Jenny lived in a small apartment in Queens. Jenny was in her second year of school and enjoyed it very much. Peyton was managing a youth center with the help of her new friends she had made while working in an upclass restaurant.

The center was in an old abandoned train station. Peyton alongside Karrie, Abatha, Jacky, Samara and Eryk spent a couple of months fixing up the station. Inside of it, they set up a basketball court and a giant sitting area. They had desks set up with bookshelves of encyclopedias and other books that they picked up, so that the kids could do their homework there.

The center was something that Peyton and the others held close to their hearts. To keep it running, the group of six kept the odd jobs during the day and had all sorts of fundraisers to keep a moderate budget.

They held classes in the evening and on weekends. All of the activities that the teens participated in were free of charge; there were only three rules to abide by. 1- Be respectful to others, to the center and to _yourself_; 2- Clean up after yourself; and 3- Have fun. The purpose of the center was to keep teens off the streets and to create a safe environment where they can be themselves and enjoy it.

One night, once all the kids had left, Peyton, Samara and Eryk were cleaning up. It was 11:15 and Jenny was sleeping on the big red couch. Jenny was the star of the place; she was the beloved little angel that everyone wanted to be around.

"Mind if I put some music on?" Peyton asked Samara who was putting the books in their correct order.

"Yeah of course, go right ahead. I'm in the mood to dance." She added as she spun around.

Samara was always I the mood to dance. She was the most rhythmic person Peyton had ever met. She held various dance lessons on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and on weekends. She had grown up in Queens and had taught herself to dance. When she was 14, in high school, she took many dance classes and found herself teaching her peers who had been dancing "professionally" for years.

"Hmm…" Peyton fiddled with her bottom lip as she flipped through dozens of records. "Ah ha. Here we go." She said slipping a dance mix record that one of the girls had brought, out of its case.

After hearing a knocking on the doors, Peyton yelled, "Eryk! Go get the door!"

Eryk hurried out from the bathroom that he had been cleaning. "What is it that thou asketh of me my fair lady?" Eryk joked.

Eryk had always had a passion for acting, especially Shakespeare. He had read every play, sonnet and every other Shakespearean composition. He had memorized many of the famous verses from the plays and several dozen sonnets. Although, he had trouble with just about everything else, Shakespeare and roller skates were Eryk's two major passions and excellence.

"I asked you to answer the door." Peyton said with a laugh. "The door is over there." Peyton said nodding toward the door as Eryk got down on his hands and feet and walked awkwardly to Peyton and Jenny.

"Oh you're so annoying sometimes." Peyton said putting her arms in the air. "I'll just do it myself." She said trying to hold back a smile. When she was about half way there, the knocker opened the door and stepped in.

Peyton jumped back at first. "Who the hell are you?" she asked putting her hands out in front of her. She searched his face for something to remember him by. "Who are you?" she asked again backing away.

_It's times like this when you wish you had a gun._ Peyton thought to herself. When the guy slipped the hood of his sweater off, something was triggered in her mind. The guy had longish dirty blonde hair and a short scruffy beard. He looked like he had been roaming the streets for days.

Suddenly, his face began to take on traits of his younger years. "Oh my God." She said in a whisper. As a smile leapt to her face, she set off in a bolt towards him. "Lucas!" she yelled and leaped into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoving her head in his shoulder.

"Oh my God! I can't believe you're here!" She stepped back and looked over him as he stripped off his dark sweater. "You look so… grown up. I can't believe it's you." She exclaimed jumping into his arms. "I'm so glad you're here! Come on." She added grabbing his wrist and trailing him toward Eryk whom was now playing with the very much awake Jenny.

"Jenny, say hello to Lucas. He's an old friend of mommy's."

Jenny slipped off the couch and came over to Lucas and Peyton. She looked up at him skeptically. She took his hand and looked at the back of it. She traced lines over each of his fingers then flipped it over to place her little hand against his.

"Hello." She said then smiled. "He's pretty." She said turning to Peyton, who just laughed.

"Yeah he is." She agreed with a giggle, picking up Jenny and setting her on her hip.

Peyton sat down with Lucas on a couch to talk for a bit. When Eryk went to jump in, Samara stopped him. "Just leave 'em. They haven't seen each other since high school." Eryk sighed as he watched Peyton play around with Lucas.

"They were… together in high school, weren't they?" He asked with a drop of disappointment in him. Samara nodded her head.

"May I have this dance?" she asked as she switched the record from the dance mix to a swing dance one. Eryk laughed. He loved it when Samara would try to cheer him up. Her solution was always to dance.

"I'd love too."

While Samara and Eryk danced, Lucas and Peyton caught up on all the years that they'd been away from each other. Jenny had her head rested on Lucas' lap and would every so often mumble something in her sleep. When Peyton finally looked down at her watch, she saw that it was quarter after 12.

"Wow," she said with surprise. "We've been talking for almost an hour."

Lucas smiled and wrapped his arm around Peyton, drawing her into him. It felt so nice for her to be able to just relax on someone else. For the past five years, she had been on her own, raising Jenny, supporting herself and maintaining the center. Thankfully, she had Samara and Eryk and everyone else to help her out with all of it. But even so, it seemed like it had been forever since she could happily lean on someone's shoulder and just feel safe, feel like she wasn't alone.

"Well, it takes some time to catch up on five years." Lucas said turning to see the look in Peyton's eyes. "I missed you so much." He said and drew her face into his. Lightly he laid his lips on hers and kissed her for the first time in many years.

"I missed you too." She said and rested her head on Lucas' shoulder. She closed her eyes and just listened to him hum a soft melody.

Peyton was half-asleep when there came another a loud knocking on the door. It was quite unusual because people usually just stepped in. Peyton jumped out of her seat when they continued to knock getting louder and louder.

"Hold on!" She yelled. "I'll be right back." She said to Lucas as she stood up. She silently cursed at the knockers for disturbing her sleep.

"What do you want?" she said as she opened the doors. In front of her, were two young men dressed in all black. Assuming they were a couple of teens that frequented the center, she invited them in then asked casually, "What do you need guys?"

They grinned mischievously under the shadow of their hooded sweatshirts. Before Peyton could even react, the bigger one extracted a gun from his pocket. "Okay just put the gun down and

Peyton was cut off mid-sentence by a bullet in her chest. Eryk, Lucas and Samara raced over to the doors. "PEYTON!"

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Please review

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It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

- ?


	8. He needs you

Thanks for the reviews guys. I love you all

And to Lonnie, unless I understood incorrectly, that's kind of mean and I'm sorry you don't like my story.

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"Peyton!" Samara yelled as her and Lucas knelt down beside her. "Go call for help Lucas. The phone is over by the bathrooms." She ordered pointing towards the bathroom.

Eryk wrapped his arms around Jenny and struggled to hold her back. He didn't want her to get hurt. Although he was much bigger and stronger than Jenny, Eryk failed to hold onto her because she wiggled and slipped out of his arms.

"Jenny! Come back here!"

"Mommy!" she cried as she plopped down beside her. Jenny reached her small hand over to Peyton's shoulder stained in red. Her innocent eyes were wide with concern and fear.

Peyton struggled through the pain and reached her hand up Jenny's. "Mommy's gonna be okay. Don't worry Jenny. It's all gonna be okay."

The two guys walked slowly towards the three ladies. Samara had ripped some of her shirt and held it on Peyton's chest while she helped Peyton rest in the semi-sitting position. "Just relax Peyton." Samara said as she stroked her hair. "An ambulance will be here any minute."

Samara was so busy in keeping Peyton relaxed that she didn't even notice Jenny until Eryk had began screaming and raced to wards the doors.

"Get away from her!" he screamed as he ran towards the guys in black. As Eryk ran he yelled curses and profanities at them.

"Run Rex." One of the guys said to the other who held Jenny like a football against his side. Jenny screamed bloody murder and hit Rex with her closed fists and kicked him. Eryk dove towards Rex but was blocked by the other guy.

"Get out of my way you bastard!" He said trying to push by him.

"Well let's not get rude here. My name's Aaron. And I'm your worst nightmare." He yelled, spitting on Eryk.

"I beg to differ." Eryk protested and punched Aaron across the face. "I believe I'm yours."

"Eryk!" Samara yelled as he had begun to run away. He didn't look back, he just continued running. "Don't get hurt." She whispered. "Peyton?" she said with her hand still pressuring the wound. "Peyton girl answer me. Please."

Peyton groaned roughly and Samara sighed heavily in relief.

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"You're not getting away with her!" Eryk yelled at Rex who was only 2 meters in front of him. He looked back and saw that Aaron was close on his heels. Eryk began to pick up speed to catch up, when he felt Aaron's gun strike him across the head. Then he fell to the ground.

"No." he cried repeatedly as Aaron continuously hit him with the gun. "Get off me!" he yelled.

"Keep going!" Aaron yelled at Rex who had stopped. Rex had thrown Jenny over his shoulder.

"Jenny!" Eryk cried out as he tried to wriggle out from underneath Aaron. "Get off!" With all the strength he had, Eryk pulled out from under him and had jumped to his feet. Eryk felt a wave off nausea and dizziness take over him, but ignored it and split into a bolt toward Rex.

"Looks like… we've got… company." Eryk said between breaths as he heard sirens racing to the center. He was so close to Rex all he needed to do was leap forward and he could bring Rex to the ground. But he feared hurting Jenny.

"ERYK!" Jenny yelled crying. That's when he knew that he needed to do anything he could to save her. What are a scratch and a bruise if you're in the arms of someone safe?

Eryk let out a cry of pain as he heard a gunshot while he leapt into Rex and they both plummeted to the ground. Eryk straddled Rex, took a glass bottle that was luckily beside him, smashed it against the wall of the center and jammed it into his neck. Eryk jumped to his feet, grabbed Jenny in his arms and began to run.

Eryk yelled as his ankle cracked and the ground drew him in. The bullet had shot through his ankle. "Run Jenny. Run as fast as you can, I'll be there in a minute okay." Eryk said calmly. "Then tell Lucas or Samara I need them." Jenny obeyed and ran like wind into the center.

"Lucas!" she yelled and ran into his arms. Lucas picked her up and sat her on his hip. Her little jeans were ripped at the knees and her light pink sweater was covered in dirt. "Where's mommy?" she asked still crying.

"She's gonna be okay. Don't worry about mommy." He said with worry still in his voice. He couldn't hide it no matter how much he tried. "Where's Eryk?"

Jenny gasped. The moment she got to Lucas, she had forgotten. "He needs you. He told me to run as fast as I could and that he would be here in a minute. He needs you." She repeated.

Lucas stood Jenny on the ground and held her small shoulders in his hands. Go and hide behind one of the couches. Stay there until I come over there to get you. Don't move, okay?" Jenny nodded her head understandingly and walked quickly towards the couches.

"Don't move. I'll be right back." Lucas assured her and left the center.

"Eryk?" Lucas called trying to get used to the dark. There was only one streetlight and it didn't give off much light.

"Lucas?" Eryk called out to him. "Luc!" Lucas ran to where he heard Eryk's words.

When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw Eryk slowly limping using the wall as a crutch. "Eryk, Eryk." Lucas said as he hurried over to him and slipped his arm under Eryk's letting Eryk rest on him. The two guys wobbled into the center and over to the couches, where Lucas laid Eryk down.

"Jenny," Eryk said reaching his hand out. "Go get the first aid box. You know where it is?" Jenny nodded. "Okay please hurry."

Eryk struggled to rest his leg up on the back of the couch. He felt blood drool down his calf and pain slice up his entire leg. "Let me help." Lucas said nervously, and he aided Eryk to place his leg up. Even though he really didn't want _Lucas'_ help, Eryk gave in. He didn't want Jenny to see him be so stubborn and likely scary.

Once they had called another ambulance and were waiting, Lucas felt slightly left out as Eryk joked with Jenny, playing around and making her laugh. Trying to include himself, Lucas stupidly asked. "So what happened out there?"

Eryk looked at him angrily and before turning back to Jenny said slightly rudely, "They lost."

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Okay not a very good ending, but it's not done.

Please review.

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I'm not thinking about the destination, I'm having too much fun on the journey

- Bill Mates


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